If you haven’t heard about and visited Arts Walk at the Monroe Street Market, then you are missing out on what’s hip and cool in Brookland. A neighborhood in DC that was once home to poet and Howard University professor Sterling A. Brown, Arts Walk is one of the latest attractions to the neighborhood.
It is also part of the development of new residential spaces in Brookland along Monroe and Michigan avenues. The ground-level artists studios allow patrons direct access when the artists are there and working. If the artists are not present, the glass fronts permit you to peep in and glimpse their work. Artists Cheryl Edwards, Carmen Quander, and Cedric Baker maintain studios on Arts Walk.
During my visit one Saturday afternoon, Edwards was in her studio. The cool afternoon complimented the laid back conversation taking place in Edwards’ studio with a photographer and another artist.
Since I arrived at Arts Walk after the Farmer’s Market had left for the day, it was quiet. Residents of the apartments above the studios as well as some curious patrons were milling about the grounds. The absence of a crowd was an asset because it allowed me to engage with Edwards’ work without interruption as well to converse with Edwards. Some of the art at Edwards’ studio is figurative drawings in charcoal, mixed media comprised of collage and photo transfer, and acrylic prints.
Edwards will be hosting an art talk about her travels to Cuba on Thursday, August 21, 2014, at 6:00 p.m. in her studio. The event is free and open to the public.
Quander and Baker were not in their studios. However, glimpsing into the studio incited the senses. I will return to visit these two artists and take a look at their work.
To reach Arts Walk by metro take the red line to the Brookland-CUA metro stop.
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